There are few better fairy tale entries into international cricket than that of Chris Pringle, a strong fast medium bowler from Auckland who represented the Kiwis in both formats. Predominan...Full profile

There are few better fairy tale entries into international cricket than that of Chris Pringle, a strong fast medium bowler from Auckland who represented the Kiwis in both formats. Predominantly effective in ODIs, Pringle's strength was his accuracy because he didn't bowl at threatening speeds to intimidate the batsmen. His control and variations made him a success in 50-overs cricket but never had the firepower to replicate it in Tests where a different skill set was required to succeed. Pringle's introduction for the New Zealand team was sensational to say the least. The Kiwis were touring England at that point and he happened to be playing County cricket. As many budding cricketers do, Pringle wanted to watch one of the matches and went to watch a training session in the hope of getting a ticket. New Zealand were badly hit by injuries and one thing led to another which saw Pringle being picked in the squad as a replacement.

Pringle's Test career was a real struggle though he did have a 11-wicket match haul against Pakistan in their den - a remarkable feat that lost its sheen in the allegations of ball tampering. He himself later admitted to doing it but also maintained that it was a reply to what Pakistan were already doing in the game. All the spat over the issue certainly clouded over his fine performance and the fact that he could never produce a performance close to it, further hurt him. The red-ball career ended rather quickly for him as the toil for wickets increased with every passing game. He wasn't a dependable lower order batsman generally but held a unique record of being the first ever no.11 batsman to top score in an ODI. After his New Zealand days, he shifted base to Netherlands where he played and later on coached the national team.

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